


Mizūmi no Kōsai

by CityofJade



Series: 10000 Hours [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Character Development, F/M, Fantasy, Japan, Japanese Character(s), Japanese Culture, Magic, Near Future, Post-War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 20:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10521018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CityofJade/pseuds/CityofJade
Summary: The year is 2033, World War lll has just ended, and magic is just beginning to be acknowledged as a real thing. Scientists and government officials scramble to lay claim to discoveries, to answer the questions of the public. To explain the things that they long thought impossible.In a mountain village populated by shrines and largely untouched by the Earth's most devastating war, a young woman must sacrifice her freedom to save her family, to save her country, to save herself.~~~Some character's names, appearances, and powers are inspired by a work called Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei by Satou Tsutomu. That is all my story shares with his creation. This is not fanfiction. This is my own creation modeled loosely around his. I have been suffering from writer's block for years and have found that it lessens my anxiety if I tie my own character's to another's work. Anything that is exclusively his will be attached with an appropriate disclaimer. I  try to be as original as possible. This work is not made for profit, it is only so that I can build skills and confidence as a writer. Thank you.





	

_ “My dearest little sisters. How long has it been since we last saw each other? I would try to calculate it, but I know the answer would be disheartening. Better to imagine that it has only been days, rather than the years that have actually passed. I am well, and I hope that you are too. The lab that I’m at is really more like a mansion that happens to have a laboratory in the basement.  All the comforts of home are readily available to me the second they’re done asking me to levitate  cups and poking me with needles. Though their baths are nothing like the hot springs, and the local shrine is a corporate mockery compared to our own.” _

“Suyo? What’s a  _ corporate mockery? _ ”

“It means that the shrine isn’t as nice as the ones we have here.”

“Oh.”

“ Ahem.  _ The staff all treat me well, as if it’s their sole purpose in life to serve me. I suspect that they might be a bit scared of me, but on the one occasion I tried to make light of the subject and promise I would never disintegrate them for forgetting my coffee, the servants in question went whiter than Miyuki and laughed like mechanical robots.” _

An indignant noise draws attention and is shushed back into silence amid soft giggles. But the reader hardly pauses, continuing the letter as if she hadn’t been interrupted. 

_ “I’ve made a point to treat them as friends rather than servants, but they’ve hardly warmed. Not at all like Hayama who is more like family than a butler, or Minami, who I sometimes forget isn’t actually my cousin. Send them my regards please, and tell Miho that her tokoroten surpasses anything that these fancy city chefs can come up with. Speaking of the city, it’s surprisingly lively considering the circumstances. It seems to have escaped the war altogether, the only indicator that anything has happened at all are the headlines in the newspapers and the complaints from the kitchens about the lack of tinfoil.  It’s quite a sight. At night the buildings gleam, thousands of lights shining through the night. The noise is constant as well, and even the air seems to constantly thrum with activity. It’s a wonder how anyone could ever get any rest at all in a place like this. If I had come here straight from our quiet village I might have developed a case of insomnia. As it though, it’s a great deal better than the ships I’ve served on.  The Lady Anne, while a majestic ship in her own right, didn’t have a very quiet engine. Before I was promoted and still worked in the depths of her belly, the whirring and humming and clanging kept me up for weeks until eventually I was too tired to mind.  It seems silly, but I almost miss her, noise and all. One thing this city has going for it though is the accessibility. I walked into a flower shop the other day and found every seed that we have ever had to order online. I’ll bring some home when I come, as many as I can carry, even if I have to sew them into a jacket and stuff them in my pockets.” _

The children gathered around the reader laugh, imagining the usually serious writer wearing a jacket of seed packets. The woman reading the letter smiles as well, momentarily smoothing away the worried lines of her forehead. 

_“Moving on to other topics,_ _I heard from a friend that Leo, the boy who served with me for a brief time, has finally come home. Please pay him my respects. He lost a lot in this war and hasn’t received nearly enough thanks for his effort. In fact, ask Aunt Maya to prepare her special yosenabe for him. He often lamented the lack of good food and I think it would cheer him immensely.  It would cheer him even more if Tatsuyo were to deliver it to him. I told him that she was as pretty as the blue and white ensata growing in our village and he is very eager to meet her.”_

The children giggle again as the woman reading the letter sighs. “Tatsuya said you were as pretty as the iris!” One exclaims. “Does that mean Leo likes you Suyo?” Asks another, and the laughter redoubles. 

Tatsuyo sighs again. “No. Tatsuya was being silly. Leo-san doesn’t like me, we’ve never met.”

“But Tatsuya-itoko-san told him about you. He said you were as pretty as the  _ mizūmi _ iris and now Leo-san wants to meet you!”

“Tatsuya is only saying that Michiko. Fumiya, use the proper honorifics unless you have been told otherwise.” Fumiya makes a face at her, but Michiko pouts. 

“Why would he say that if he didn’t mean it though?” 

“It was a joke.”

“Tatsuya-itoko-san doesn’t make jokes though!”

“Michiko, just call him Tatsuya.”

“You’re changing the subject!”

From across the room a woman in red leans back, her carmine smile one of amusement. Tatsuyo looks at her helplessly. “Oba-san.” She says pleadingly, but her aunt only smiles wider, silent. 

“Hush.” Another girl at Tatsuyo’s elbow says. This is supposedly Miyuki, the one that Tatsuya had teased for her pale complexion. “I want to hear the rest of the letter.”

Tatsuyo gives her a grateful look and returns to the letter with haste, mindful of the still troubled Michiko and her never-ending questions at her feet. 

_ “While I’m thinking about flowers again, I may be just in time to see the shirane-aoi this year. Out of all the beautiful flowers we plant, I somehow miss those the most. Perhaps because we don’t have to plant them at all. They just pop up, regardless of what we’ve  _ actually _ planted there. I admire their perseverance. That’s all I have time to say for now.  The sun has gone down and I have a full day in the lab tomorrow. Oh, did you know you can’t see the stars from the city? There’s too many lights and too much pollution. I look forward to stargazing with my precious sisters again.  I would like to have a midnight picnic when I come back. All the cousins would be invited, if our aunts and uncles say yes of course. These past few years of war have made me realize that there is no reason not to do the things we want to do, even if you have to bend the rules a little bit. Keep your chin up Tatsuyo, I know you’re the one reading this, and tell Miyuki that the present I ordered for her birthday is finally being shipped and may arrive this summer. Your devoted brother, Tatsuya.” _

“Alright.” Aunt Maya says from across the room. “The letter’s finished so it’s time for you to keep your promises and do your chores. 

Groans and sighs erupt from the multitude of children gathered at Tatsuyo and Miyuki’s feet, but they clamber to their feet and out the open door all the same, their bright little voices disappearing into the sunlight. Tatsuyo folds the letter up neatly while Miyuki stretches, smiling dreamily. 

“Can you imagine?” She asks. “A city so bright you can’t even see the stars. Tatsuya is so lucky.”

“Half the reason you can’t see them is because of all the pollution.” Tatsuyo reminds her, the worried set of her mouth retuning as she examines the envelope. “This was sent four weeks ago. Do you think he’s still alright?”

Miyuki pouts. “Stop worrying so much. It’s June, the poppy have already begun to sprout and Tatsuya said he’s be here to see them. You should be excited!”

“A lot can happen in four weeks.”

“The war’s  _ over _ Suyo. What could possibly happen?”

“Magic has never been acknowledged as a real thing before now. What if the tests they’re performing on him are dangerous? What if they hurt him?”

“Tatsuya can take care of himself.”

“I’m not saying he can’t I just-”

“Tatsuyo,” Maya says from the doorway, sunlight shining at her edges. “Your brother is a strong man. He ended the war. Do you think he would let his guard down so soon after everything? Do you think he would let anything get in the way of him finally coming home?”

Tatsuyo deflates. “I guess not.” She says, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes wearily. “I just can’t help but worry. He may be Mahesvara to the world, but to me he’s still just my reckless twin brother. Worrying is inevitable.”

“I know what will make you forget your worry. Let’s make some yosenabe for Leo-kun. You can take it to him.”

Tatsuyo’s eyes fly open as she sits upright. “You don’t mean that.” She says anxiously, squinting at her aunt in the sunny doorway. 

Maya’s brow quirks in amusement. “Are you saying that Leo-kun doesn’t deserve my yosenabe? After all he did to defend our country? Tatsuyo, how heartless!”

“You know I didn’t mean that! Oba-san-”

“I’ll go with.” Miyuki volunteers. “I want to see Leo-kun’s face when he sees his beautiful blue iris.” Her face lights up with a mischievous grin as her older sister glares at her. Maya giggles from the doorway, a surprisingly youthful sound from a woman her age. “Maybe he’ll fall in love instantly and beg for your hand over the yosenabe.”

“Miyuki.” Tatsuyo says sharply. “That’s not even funny.”

Miyuki sighs. “You’re no fun. I’ll take the nabe if you really don’t want to go. I’m sure Leo-kun won’t mind.” She moves to join their aunt at the doorway. “But you have to help make it.”

“Of course. Let me just put the letter away.”

Miyuki nods and disappears after their aunt, leaving Tatsuyo alone with her thoughts. A moment of silence goes by, a grandfather clock chimes 2 o'clock somewhere down the hall, and slowly, she unfolds the letter again. Re-reading much more diligently this time, the frown on her face deepening. She re-reads it three times, muttering bits of it aloud to herself. About the servants, about the lab, about the noise of the city. Finally she folds it up again. “I don’t know why,” she says, staring at a knot of wood in the ceiling, “But I have the feeling that you’re not as ok as you say you are.”

But no one answers, and the clock ticks on. 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimers-  
> Tatsuya's nickname, Mahesvara, was the idea of Satou Tsutomu, I will work on finding another God to name him after but at the moment it is not a priority. Tatsuya is also modeled after Satou's Shiba Tatsuya. All they share is a name, some appearance similarities, and Mary Sue like powers. 
> 
> Miyuki's appearance is modeled after Satou's own Miyuki. They also share a name. 
> 
> Maya shares a name and appearance with Satou's, as does her twin sister Miya. 
> 
> There was a war in Satou's work as well, but I cannot remember any of the fine details. Anything about my own war coinciding with his is purely coincidental. 
> 
> Minami and Hayama share names and similar occupations with two of Satou's characters. 
> 
> Leo is a placeholder name. 
> 
> I named a young boy Fumiya and realized later that there was another character with his name in Satou's work. I decided that I might as well give him a twin like the original Fumiya, but that is all they have in common. 
> 
> I am an American and English is my first and only language. Any corrections to culture or language would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
